I am still hardcore...

I may not bike like I used to...but I am still hardcore!

Quick update

Yesterday I did the same route as the day before. Today I was running late so I had to drive a little closer to Davis. I was thinking about going a longer ride tomorrow but I'll decide for sure tomorrow. If anything, I will definitely ride from West Sacramento on Tuesday. Today was super short! Only 0.8 miles (1,3 km) each way!

Today: 1.6 miles (2,6 km)
This Week: 36.3 miles (58,44 km)

I made vegan carrot cake cupcakes with vegan cream cheese frosting for Yasmin's birthday party tomorrow. I tried one and they are super delicious. Sorry for the lack of photo! You'll just have to imagine these ones :)

New Bike Route and Adventures in the kitchen

I think I am lucky that my body did not feel the repercussions from yesterday's bike ride. Today I decided to pretty much drive to Davis. I parked at a Park and Ride and I rode my bike to campus. Granted, I totaled only 8 miles (12,87 km) to and from school today but I realized yesterday that I am going to have to build up back to my usual bike commuting so staying that low is probably best. I think maybe by the middle of next week I will try from West Sacramento. I haven't calculated the miles from there but it has got to be about 10 or so (16 km) one way.

I found an interesting article that talks about how it is not enough to just bike ride to reduce one's carbon footstep but also to eat mindfully. What a concept! If you want to read the article yourself, here it is.

I decided I will track my miles, just for fun:
Today: 8 miles (12,87 km)
This Week: 26.7 miles (42,97 km)

Adventures in the Kitchenland

Alright, I am going to keep this brief because I need to get to working on homework! I have tons of reading to do. School is really exciting this quarter but I am getting sidetracked. Today I did my own adaptation of Susan V.'s Eggplant Pancakes Florentine. Her recipe does not call for oil but I used about half a tablespoon of oil when I cooked the spinach. I love olive oil and a little bit will not hurt me. I made a total of four pancakes so I have some leftover for school tomorrow. Sadly, I will have to nuke them-I am anti-nuking my food. Also, in the tomato sauce I used red wine and added red bell peppers. Ok picture time!

Yikes! I have to wash the dishes before homework...!!!!! A domain!

Ride of death and mini-flashcards

I am exhausted. No wait, I am not exhausted...I am dead beat tired. My butt hurts and so do my legs. Clearly four months not commuting on bike has made me really bad at bike riding. Not only did the ride take me much longer than I had anticipated but I also feel it all over my body. Who knew an 18.7 mile (30 km) bike ride could break me down like this after my eight hour rides back in June. Just goes to show, if you don't use it, you lose it. Don't worry, I'll be back to speed in no time, I am sure!

The Ride of Death

Saving the Planet: Action 3

As minute as it may sound, doing something like making mini-flashcards instead of the whole index card for class can be extremely helpful. I cut my index cards into fours and now I am using them for my Italian vocabulary. 

Flashy

Anyway sorry, I cannot keep my eyes open any longer...going to bed even though it is only 20.04h. PEACE!

Saving the Planet: Actions 1 & 2

Ideally, I would have documented this day far more accurately than I currently am but this will have to suffice for now.

As I stated in my previous entry, I have decided to make my focus helping the planet and obviously, by helping the planet, I will be helping my body. It is an exchange that makes sense and is not so attached to vanity but for the betterment of society itself. Probably the easiest way to help the planet is through eating Vegan and the other changes I will be making in my life will be gradual and I will keep track of them through this blog.

Action 1: Being Vegan

It is only the second day of 100% veganism and I have to admit that I already feel its effects. I feel much more energized and ready for action. I have been rather hyper all day! I had my wonderful friends, Brenda and Star join me for lunch today. They came to swoop me up from CCAS and we went to Sugar Plum Vegan. Here we had a Bottomless Brunch, which by the way was absolutely amazing! For $12 we got two plates of food which included salad, blueberry pancakes, tempe bacon, cinnamon roll, biscuit and gravy, and a tofu omelet. It was a hearty meal and with my leftovers I had dinner!

Action 2: Using an rack to dry my clothes

This is something that I have thought about doing for a very long time. The only reason why I hadn't gotten to buying the racks is because I haven't had the time to buy them or they were not in stock at the store. Today before I went to work, I stopped by the store and bought two of them. They were pretty easy to build and only cost me $10.38 each with taxes. I don't think I need to go into so much detail as to way this is beneficial to the planet. By air drying my clothes, I won't be using the dryer which means less energy is being used and bam! my carbon footstep is diminished. The personal benefits, 1) I save money on electricity, 2) there is less damage to my clothes. Of course, we could include the money saved from having to repair the dryer if it were to break. Imagine, something as simple as hanging my clothes on a line can save the planet! That is super exciting and so easy to do!
In Nicaragua (the homeland, as I call it), this is obviously the only method of drying clothes and it makes sense with the tropical heat but I have to admit that I was surprised to see that European homes I visited often lacked a dryer and they have equivalent winters to us (if not worse compared to California winters)...so we cannot use the weather as a reasonable excuse for nots not air drying clothes. If they can do it, why can't we? So alas, here I am air drying my clothes today. Of course, I strongly suggest not to wait until the last minute to wash clothes because it could be catastrophic because it is a process that takes time.

Maybe this may come as an obvious observation but I will say it anyway: Being conscientious about our eating habits and habits in saving the planet require planning. We cannot rely on our usual comforts and lazy modes of carrying on our lives and improve the condition of the world. Being a part of the solution requires a proactive approach. It is time to rise up and be more aware of our choices. Of course planning can be cumbersome but in time, we adapt and we will be so used to the routine. The point is to start. I have started and I don't plan on stopping now...

Are you f*$#-ing kidding me?!

It is officially the second day of the year and like 99.9% of the world's population, I have decided to make 2011 the year I get healthy. I know, you are probably thinking, "Sure Mariana, look how many attempts you have initiated already..." I have a bad track record...ok, a miserable track record but at least my heart is in the right place, right? In general, I am a do-gooder. I want to save the planet and myself. In general, I am pretty good at it but I can't lie, there is more that I could do. 

Being vegetarian is actually, quite easy. I hardly miss meat except when I was in Nicaragua and REALLY wanted to eat Pollo Empanizado (essentially breaded and fried chicken) and knowingly ate Nacatamal without meat but with a good possibility it had lard. The real challenge though is giving up dairy products, well better said, CHEESE. (Blast you cheese for being so flippin' delicious!) So now I am praying to the Vegan gods to protect me and keep me away from my evil ways. 

So what is the point of this blog? Psssh, I don't know. So many failures and false starts in the past. I know that I want to make a substantial change in my life, not just in the form of exercise and eating but spiritually also. In general, I am happy with myself. I love the person I am and the drive I have to complete things. After all, everything I have set my mind to, I have accomplished so why not this?

I guess I realized that maybe I have been focusing on the wrong things. I want to save myself, sure, but I really should put at the forefront the planet. Although I love myself, I love humanity and although I do not take a proactive approach to helping my fellow man enough, I can do this small thing which can have a huge impact.

Still have your doubts to why you should stop eating meat? Maybe you should read this.

It's not a running start but it's a start

This is not a failure but a slow start. I have been watching what I eat although not fully diving into careful food monitoring. I was considering starting a short fast prior to starting my food monitoring so I guess that surely begins tomorrow. I will do a liquid fast probably for a day or two and then move onto being on a vegan diet.

On another note, I begin meditating again tomorrow. I miss this aspect of my life that I have abandoned for some time. It always helped me stay clear and focused. I could use some clarity for my thoughts. 

Positive changes afloat. I will begin my everyday journaling with my mantra, food intake, and daily exercise.